1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shift lever device which is an operating device of a vehicle, and more particularly, to an integrated control shift lever device in which various additional modes are further implemented in addition to an M (sports) mode to maximize driver convenience.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a shift lever as an operating device for changing a shift stage of a manual transmission, a mechanical automatic transmission, or an automatic transmission depending on a vehicle speed moves along gate patterns for implementing the shift patterns, such as P (parking), R (reverse), N (neutral), and D (driving).
Satisfaction of quality and merchantability of a vehicle depends on a shift operating feeling made while driving an automobile and in addition, cannot but largely depend on even a shift pattern capable of satisfying a driver's shift taste.
As an example for satisfying the driver's shift taste, there is provided a so-called tipstronic type shift lever device that enables operating a manual transmission mode of a manual transmission sense in an automatic transmission vehicle.
FIG. 12 shows a gate pattern routinely applied to the tiptronic type shift lever device.
FIG. 12A shows a gate pattern 110 in which an automatic transmissions mode 120 of P (parking), R (reverse), N (neutral), and D (driving) and a manual transmission mode 130 of 2-L arranged on a straight line on an indicating panel 100, FIG. 12B shows a gate pattern 210 in which an automatic transmission mode 220 of P (parking), R (reverse), N (neutral), and D (driving) and a manual transmission mode 230 of +/− are arranged on an indicating panel 200 in a J shape, and FIG. 12C shows a gate pattern 310 in which an automatic transmission mode 320 of P (parking), R (reverse), N (neutral), and D (driving) and a manual transmission mode 330 of +/− are arranged on an indicating panel 300 in an H shape.
Routinely, automatic transmission modes 120, 220, and 320 are called an automatic mode and manual transmission modes 130, 230, and 330 are called a sports mode or an M mode.
Automatic transmission modes 120, 220, and 320 are modes in which the shift stage is changed depending on P (parking), R (reverse), N (neutral), and D (driving) and manual transmission modes 130, 230, and 330 are modes in which the shift lever can be fixed by decelerating or accelerating one stage from a current shift stage according to driver's needs while the vehicle is driven with the shift lever operated to the sate of the automatic transmission.
That is, in manual transmissions modes, 130, 230, and 330, when the shift lever moves to manual transmission modes 130, 230, and 330 branched from D (driving), the current shift stage is held and in this state, when the shift lever is pulled to the rear side and released, the current shift stage can be decelerated (−) by one-stage downshift, while when the shift lever is pushed to the front side and released, the shift lever can be accelerated (+) by one-stage upshift.
In the operation, a driver does not need to stage a clutch pedal or take his/her foot off an acceleration pedal to feel rapid shift responsiveness unlike a manual transmission and therefore, satisfaction of the quality and merchantability of the vehicle in addition to the shift operating sense can be significantly by satisfying the driver's shift taste.
However, there is a trend that the driver intends to receive more conveniences from the automobile and as an example to follow the trend, there can be provided a smart shift lever capable of significantly increasing the quality and the merchantability of the vehicle through a shift operation.
The smart shift lever uses a controller (TCU or ECU) sensing a positional change of a lever and an actuator transferring the positional change to a motive power unlike the shift lever mechanically connected with the transmission.
Even in this case, the driver changes the shift lever to a desired shift stage by changing the position of the shift lever according to the gate pattern, but other additional functions can be implemented more variously and conveniently.
The smart shift lever is used as an operating deice for all types of transmissions and as a representative example adopting the smart shift lever, there can be provided a shift by wire (SBW) type transmission system.
An example of an additional function for implementing various operating functions applied to the smart shift lever can include parking release actuator (PRA) configuration.
This is one example of an additional function capable of strengthening a failure of the TCU controlling the transmission, turn-off an engine, or N-stage parking/car washing/manual release/malicious releasing cut-off by sending a control signal to the parking release actuator (PRA) when the shift lever is located at a predetermined position of the gate pattern.
The driver who receives more conveniences through the smart shift lever cannot but intend to more and more conveniences, and as a result, requirements for the quality and the merchantability that has bee increased should be satisfied by implementing more functions even in the smart shift lever.
Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2008-0021386 (Mar. 7, 2008) relates to a shift lever device for switching a mode.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.